


Klance - Moving On

by adeona



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Canon Universe, Confessions, Gay Keith (Voltron), In Character, Insecure Lance (Voltron), Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, M/M, Married Curtis/Shiro (Voltron), Pining Keith (Voltron), Post Season 8, Post-Canon Fix-It, Post-Finale, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:48:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24149989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adeona/pseuds/adeona
Summary: This takes place after season 8. Shiro finds out about Keith's feelings for Lance, and tries to get him to confess but Keith doesn't want to ruin their friendship. However, things change after they get stuck in a cave...
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 55





	1. Struck by Lightning

**Author's Note:**

> This is what I imagine happens after the show ends, so I've tried to make it as close to canon as possible, with a couple headcanons. Also, this is my first fanfiction ever so it kinda sucks lol. Thanks for reading!

Pidge, Hunk, Keith, Shiro, Lance and Coran were on their way to a small planet. It was a planet where lots of different aliens lived together after having their home planets destroyed by the Galra. Unfortunately, an earthquake had occurred and the inhabitants of the small planet had to be evacuated immediately. They had sent a distress signal to the previous Paladins of Voltron, who weren’t late to respond. 

Coran and the others came in a big Garrison ship, and landed by the biggest city on the planet. It was raining violently, the sky shaking with thunder and lightning. The ship couldn’t keep straight in the sky.  
“Woah, this is crazy!” Lance yelled as he tried to hold on to a handle to not fall over.   
“We have to act fast when we get down there,” Shiro said with a serious face. “Coran, you stay here on the ship and get the pods ready for takeoff. Be ready to fly us out of here when we’re done. Pidge and Hunk - you help the aliens get aboard the ship and the pods. Lance, take a ship and fly around the planet, make sure no one gets left behind. Keith and I’ll search the city.   
“Yes, Captain,” Coran answered, and the others nodded.   
The ship landed shakily on the ground  
“Let’s go!”

Getting all the aliens onboard was not an easy job. They were scared, angry and many weren’t able to communicate. Some had finally been able to settle down on a peaceful planet after having their home world destroyed by the Galra, and now they had to leave again.   
“I’m sorry, guys, I know this sucks!” Hunk shouted to drown out the rain, trying to encourage the poor aliens. “But this is a dangerous place and we need to get out of here, so just stay calm and follow me.”  
Coran looked anxious as he carried clueless children into the pods. The small ships carried off in the dark sky, desperately trying to avoid the lighting.   
“That was the last one,” Pidge yelled after a while. “Where are the others?”  
“We’re here!”   
Shiro and Keith came running from the city empty-handed.   
“It was empty. Let’s get out of here,” Shiro said.   
“Wait,” Keith frowned. “Where’s Lance?”  
Shiro looked around with worry in his eyes.   
“He’s not back?”  
A huge thunder shaked the sky, and the ground beneath their feet quaked.   
“Please, Paladins of Voltron,” an alien on the ship raised their voice. “This planet could collapse. We need to leave immediately.”  
“We’re not leaving without Lance,” Keith said angrily, his eyes fixated on the sky.   
Shiro looked at him.   
“Okay. Hunk and Pidge - get in the last two pods and fly them to safety. Coran, start the ship and be ready to take off. If Lance isn’t back in two doboshes you have to leave. Me and Keith will find him.”  
“But then you might not have a ship to fly home in…” Coran started to argue.   
“Just do it,” Shiro said. “Please, Coran.”  
He nodded, and followed Hunk and Pidge to carry out the orders. Shiro and Keith waited impatiently.   
“What if something happened to him?” Keith asked, as he turned his knife back and forth in his hand.   
“Don’t worry,” Shiro answered, clearly worrying. “Lance can take care of himself.”  
The ground vibrated violently.   
“We can’t just stand here and wa-” Keith was interrupted by the sight of Lance’s ship in the sky, swaying in the rain, and sighed in relief.   
“Come on, Lance,” Shiro murmured.   
The ship was just about to fly closer to the ground when a lightning bolt struck above it, hitting the left wing of the ship. The spacecraft jolted by electricity and fell to the ground in a cloud of smoke. As it hit the ground, an explosion went off and thunder roared above them.   
“No,” Keith whispered softly, all traces of relief on his face gone.   
He ran towards the explosion, with Shiro closely behind. When facing the smoke, Keith stayed, waiting for Lance to come out. Nothing happened.   
“Lance…”   
Keith could barely breathe. His eyes were shaking (you know what I’m talking about) and he was tearing up. Shiro looked at him, with a pained expression on his face.   
Suddenly the smoke started to dispel, and the contours of a figure inside it was revealed. Lance stepped out of the cloud; his helmet was missing, the Garrison armor was practically torn apart and his hair, pointed in various directions, was slightly singed. He could barely keep his eyes open, and his face was badly bruised. In his arms, he held a small alien baby.   
“Lance!” Keith was so relieved that he felt like laughing. “Are you okay?”  
Unfortunately, Lance was not okay.   
“I... couldn’t leave… her…” Lance said softly.   
Shiro gently took the baby from him. A second later, Lance passed out.   
“Woah!” Keith took a quick step forward and catched him before he hit the ground, carrying him in his arms. Lance leaned his head towards Keith’s chest, barely breathing.   
“We have to get back to the ship!” Shiro started running, carefully holding the baby. “Come one!”  
They ran back to the ship. Thoughts started to build in Keith’s head. What if Lance didn’t wake up? What if they couldn’t heal him? He pushed them down, and concentrated on holding him as still as possible.   
“Stay with me, buddy,” Keith whispered, his jaws clenched with worry.   
As soon as they got on the ship, Coran took off and they quickly left the planet. One of the aliens recognized the baby, and started crying as he was reunited with his daughter. Shiro smiled, then turned to Keith and Lance with an anxious look.   
“There’s a healing pod over there,” Shiro said. “Can you carry him?”  
“Yeah, it’s fine,” Keith answered.   
Lance was actually starting to feel heavy in his arms, but Keith wouldn’t have dropped him for anything. They walked to the healing pod, which was shaped in a horizontal position, and Keith gently put Lance down. He took his hand, and put his other hand under his neck.   
“Lance, please, wake up,” Keith murmured.   
There were tears running down his eyes. Shiro noticed but Keith didn’t care. He just wanted Lance to wake up, to say something.   
“Please.” Keith squeezed Lance’s hand. “Don’t do this to me.”  
Suddenly, Lance started to move his head, slowly opening his eyes.   
“Keith..?” He murmured, and Keith had never smiled so brightly.   
Lance closed his eyes and went back to sleep.   
“Let’s close this thing so he can heal and rest,” Shiro said.   
Keith let go of Lance and took a few steps back.  
“Yeah.”  
“You okay?” Shiro gave him a quick look as he closed Lance’s healing pod.   
Keith looked away, aggressively wiping the tears off of his face with his fist.   
“Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry.”


	2. Good Advice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw: When I write "brother" I don't mean biologically, they just see each other as brothers.

The team was back home at Earth and Keith had been invited to Shiro and Curtis’ house to have dinner. Since Keith lived alone, they invited him over almost every night. Even though Keith often declined, he secretly loved it. 

“This food is amazing, Curtis,” Keith looked up from his empty plate.   
“Oh, it’s nothing special!” Curtis smiled. “I mean, I’m no Hunk. But I saw this new vegan recipe and just had to try it! Who knew walnuts went so well with tofu?”  
Shiro looked lovingly at his husband.   
“It’s delicious,” Keith said. “Thanks for having me for dinner.”  
“No need to thank us! Now, why don’t you two go to the living room while I do the dishes?”  
“Are you sure, honey?” Shiro asked. “I can help you.”  
Curtis shook his head.   
“No, no, it’s fine, my love,” he stated. “You’ve been working so hard lately.”  
Shiro smiled and kissed his husband on the forehead.   
“Well, I should be heading home anyways…” Keith chimed in, already starting to put on his jacket.   
“Won’t you stay a little longer? We have these flavoured popcorns that you love so much for some reason.”  
Keith smiled.   
“Okay, then,” he said, secretly happy that he had a reason to stay. 

They walked into the living room and Shiro put on the TV, where an old movie was playing.   
“Keith,” Shiro suddenly raised his voice. “There’s something I wanna talk to you about.”  
Keith raised his eyebrows.   
“About what?”  
“About Lance.”  
Keith frowned.   
“Is there something wrong with him?” he asked casually.   
“Keith.”  
Shiro looked at his brother and sighed. Keith sighed back.   
“You know what I’m talking about.”  
“I really don’t,” Keith replied, keeping his eyes glued to the TV.   
“I noticed it a long time ago,” Shiro started. “Way back, when we were still on Arus, after that fight with Sendak. You always acted differently around him. You seemed happier, in a way. He could calm you down when even I couldn’t. But then, well I died and when I came back I thought you were over it, so I never said anything. But I saw you looking at him on that mission. You still have feelings for him, don’t you?”  
Keith stiffened and looked away.   
“It’s none of you business.”  
Shiro held up his hands, as in defence.   
“I know, I know… I just thought… maybe you should do something about it?”  
Keith finally looked at Shiro, frowning.   
“Like what?”  
“Like telling Lance how you feel about him,” Shiro said happily.   
“Are you out of your mind?” Keith replied angrily. “Don’t you think I’ve already imagined what would happen if I confessed to him? In every scenario, he either punches me or gets so horrified he passes out.”  
“I think it would be good for you,” Shiro continued. “To get it off your chest.”  
“He would hate me.”  
Shiro chuckled.   
“I’m not so sure about that.”  
“Aren’t you supposed to be smart?” Keith glared at Shiro.   
“Maybe I am.”


	3. Another Mission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith's jacket isn't his famous red and yellow one, it's just some random red jacket!

The team was on their way to another mission. Nothing dangerous this time, just a regular humanitarian one. They were bringing food and medical supplies to a planet who had previously been a Galra colony, and though the people were happy to finally be free, they now felt lost. However, the planet was many solar systems away and the Garrison ship didn’t have the speed of their Voltron lions, so the trip was long. They played a round of Monsters and Mana; Pidge, Hunk, Coran and Lance made new characters, Keith played as a half-elf ranger and Shiro was a paladin as usual, but they kept loosing without Allura. 

“Anyone want some snacks?” Hunk asked, grabbing three boxes of muffins from his backpack.   
“Smells delicious,” Coran said and took a bite from the fluffy pastry.   
“It’s cold. I think I left my jacket in the kitchen,” Lance said and stood up. “I’m gonna go get it.”   
“Be careful, you’re still not fully healed after the accident,” Coran chimed in with his mouth full of muffin.   
“How could I possible hurt myself while walking to the kitchen? I’m not that clumsy!”  
“Keith, why don’t you go with him?” Shiro asked, giving Keith an odd look.   
Keith frowned.   
“What? Why? Ouch!”   
Shiro had kicked him under the table, as he, not very discreetly, kept glaring at Keith. Keith glared back, in a silent staring contest. Finally, Keith rolled his eyes.   
“Fine. Whatever. I’m coming.”  
He stood up and followed Lance, who looked very confused.   
“So, um, how are you feeling?” Keith asked, when they had left the others.   
“I’m fine, really. It didn’t even hurt that much.”  
Keith looked at Lance from the side.   
“You were struck by lighting.”  
“Okay, yeah, actually it did kinda hurt. By the way, Shiro told me that you kind of saved me. So thank you for that.”  
Keith silently reminded himself to kill Shiro later.   
“It was no big deal. You would’ve done the same thing.”  
They arrived in the kitchen, and Lance’s jacket was nowhere to be found.   
“Ugh,” Lance reached for his forehead. “I must’ve left it at home.”  
“Are you sure you need it?” Keith asked. “It’s not even that cold in here.”  
Lance glared at Keith.   
“Maybe Galra are resistant to cold, but I’m only human and I’m freezing.”  
“Take my jacket then,” Keith said.   
Lance looked confused, as if he was expecting Keith to pull a prank on him.   
“What?”  
Keith shrugged, took his red jacket off and handed it to Lance, who slowly accepted it and put in on.   
“Thanks,” he murmured, blushing.   
“No problem,” Keith replied. “I learned a long time ago that a content Lance is a slightly less annoying Lance.”  
“It’s a bit big, though... And I’m taller than you so it’s kinda short on me.”  
Keith rolled his eyes.   
“Oh, I’m sorry, do you want me to fly back to Earth and sew you a new one?”  
Lance smiled.   
“You’re making jokes now?”  
“I guess.”  
Lance’s smile grew bigger.   
“I’m so proud of you, Mullet. You’ve learned from the best.”  
Keith pretended to ponder.   
“You mean Pidge?” he asked with a teasing look.  
Lance cheeks turned red.   
“What? No! Me, obviously.”  
Keith laughed at him, and Lance laughed back. That laugh could make Keith’s heart beat faster than lightspeed. They were finally friends. How could Keith possibly ruin this moment by confessing his undying love for his friend?   
“So…” Lance turned serious. “You’re going back to the Blade of Marmora, right?”  
Keith looked down. When he left to rejoin the Blades, he didn’t know when he would be seeing Earth again.   
“Yeah,” he answered. “My mom’s there… and there’s nothing for me on Earth, anyway.”  
“Well… we are there.”  
Lance sighed and looked softly at Keith.   
“Honestly, I’m gonna miss you, man," he continued. "Be careful out there. I don’t wanna hear anything about your brave suicide maneuvers.”  
Keith’s heart skipped a beat. He wanted to embrace Lance in his arms and tell him how he would do anything to keep him safe. Instead, he just smiled and replied:  
“Says the guy who flied into a thunderstorm to save a kid.”  
Lance was about to answer when Pidge chimed in through the doorway.   
“Guys, we’re here, are you ready?”  
They nodded. Pidge observed them with a suspicious look.   
“Are you wearing Keith’s jacket?” she asked Lance.  
Keith blushed.   
“He stole it from me. Let’s go.”  
Quickly, Keith hurried past Pidge and out of the room.


	4. Cave In

The planet they arrived on consisted mostly of mountains and rocks, and the native population had scary similarities to Earthly goats, an animal which Keith wasn’t exactly fond of. Because of the Galra and their merciless mining, many of their mountains were now inhabitable and unstable. 

“Greetings, everyone! We are the former Paladins of Voltron and we’re here to help,” Shiro announced to crowd of goat-people-aliens.   
The team had brought boxes filled with food and medical supplies, and started to give them out to the aliens. Shiro, Hunk and Keith carried three boxes each, Lance struggled with two and Pidge gave up after just looking at them. Instead, she followed the leader of the planet to help them fix the main reactor and reestablish power and electricity throughout the cities.   
“Please, my friends,” said one of the goat-people. “There’s a family stuck in those mountains. Even the bravest among our people are afraid to go there. The rocks are too unstable. But we need to save them. We need your help.”  
“Of course,” Shiro responded. “Keith and Lance, will you go check it out?”  
Keith glared at his brother. He realised Shiro was going to team him up with Lance until Keith told him about his feelings, and even though it was annoying, Keith really didn’t mind spending time with Lance.   
“I’m not sure Lance should be doing something so dangerous after-” Keith started.   
“Oh, you think I can’t handle it?” Lance interrupted. “Last time I checked, I was the designated saviour of families. Let’s go climb a mountain.”  
Sometimes, Keith really had to wonder how he could be attracted to someone so… well, to Lance. Still, he’d follow him anywhere.   
“Come on, Mullet. Time to save some goats!”  
Keith sighed and went after him, as he returned Shiro’s wide smile with a murderous look. 

The rocks really were unstable. The stone was slippery and sensitive, and more than once Lance had to grab Keith by the arm to stop him from falling when he was in too much of a hurry. The aliens had given them a map, but everything looked the same and the directions were written in symbols that Keith and Lance had long ago lost hope about translating.   
“How long has it been? I feel like we’re climbing in circles,” Lance complained.   
“Would you stop whining?” Keith responded. “I thought you were the designated saviour of families.”  
He instantly felt bad. After all, Lance had been badly hurt just a few days ago.   
“Sorry,” Keith murmured. “We can take a break if you want to. Let’s rest here for a while.”  
Lance sat down on a rock, and Keith took the one next to him. It was a big mistake. Almost immediately, the mountain below them started to vibrate and cracks started to form in the ground.   
“Woah!” Keith yelled. “We gotta-”  
It was too late. The ground opened up underneath them and they fell helplessly. Keith felt rocks slamming into his body and dust in his eyes. It would be a miracle if he survived the fall without breaking a bone. Finally, he landed on solid ground in some sort of cave. He heard Lance cough somewhere on his right side.   
“Keith?” Lance said weakly. “Are you okay?”  
Slowly, Keith started to move his limbs. His body was bruised and his head throbbed, but nothing seemed to be broken. He stood up.   
“I’m fine. You?”  
“Me too, I think. Where are you?”  
Keith looked around, trying to orient himself.   
“I’m here.”  
“I can’t see you, dumbass,” Lance replied.   
“Follow my voice.”  
Keith heard Lance move towards him, and after a while he could distinguish his figure in the dark. He felt Lance’s hand grab his shoulder. Then he disappeared again.   
“Hello? Help!” Lance yelled from the top of his longs, the only answer being his own echo.   
“Lance, stop,” Keith sighed. “No one can hear you.”  
“What are we supposed to do?” Lance said with traces of panic in his voice.   
Keith tried to look around. He couldn’t see a thing.   
“We’ll just have to wait here until someone finds us,” he said, trying to hide his own panic.   
He heard Lance walk around.   
"Aw man, I’m already hungry. How long do you think it’s been?”  
“Lance, calm down,” Keith said softly, "and sit.”  
Lance found his way back to Keith and they both sat down next to each other. Their eyes were starting to adjust to the dark, and they could start to see each others faces.   
“You… you think the others will find us?” Lance whispered anxiously. “They wouldn’t leave us here, would they?”  
“Of course not.”  
Keith had been in worse situations before, but he had to admit; he wasn’t loving being stuck in a dark cave. Fear and impatience was starting to build up inside him, but he tried to push it down. He had to stay calm for Lance.   
“My stupid phone doesn’t work here,” Lance rambled. “And we have no food, no water. What if we start to run out of oxygen? I feel like I can’t breathe. Can you breathe? Is there-”  
“Lance.” Keith interrupted him and put his hand on his leg. “Shhh, don’t worry. We’re going to be fine.”  
Lance swallowed.   
“Right. Sorry. Thanks.”  
They were quiet for a moment. Keith could feel Lance relaxing, and it calmed him.   
“I already miss the others,” Lance chuckled quietly. “Do you think they’re alright?”  
“Yeah, it’s not a dangerous mission.”  
“I know, I know…” Lance murmured. “I just… don’t wanna lose anyone else, you know.”  
Keith looked away. They were both thinking of Allura.   
“It’s not the same without her,” Keith said silently.   
“It’s just… I’ve been thinking a lot about her lately. You know what I miss most about her?”  
It still bothered Keith when Lance talked about Allura, and he hated himself for it. Lance loved her, and now she was gone. She meant a lot to Keith as well. The grief you feel after losing a loved one is immense, and Keith needed to be there for Lance when he went through it.   
“I miss her leadership and fighting alongside her and trying to make her laugh at my stupid jokes. I miss my friend Allura. I know I used to flirt with her all the time but… I don’t know. I flirt with everyone. I don’t even know why. Maybe to make myself feel better or something. But I don’t think I was really in love with her.”  
Keith looked over at Lance. He was extremely confused.   
“But-”  
“I only asked her out on that date because,” Lance continued, “Hunk made me and she only said yes because Romelle wanted her to. I did love Allura, I still do. Just not… like that. And I don’t think she did either. She only came to me because she was upset about Lotor and I was upset about…. It feels like I’m letting her down now.”  
Keith stared at Lance for second.   
“You’re not letting her down. I… I didn’t know you felt this way.”  
Lance faked a laugh.   
“Well, I guess I’m not great at the whole being serious thing.”  
Keith didn’t know what to say. A storm of thoughts swirled through his mind as he tried to process what Lance had just told him.   
“Lance,” he said carefully. “You’re allowed to move on. Allura would understand.”  
“Yeah. She was amazing.”  
Keith smiled.   
“She really was.”  
They both sat in silence for a while, thinking.   
“Is it getting cold in here?” Keith asked a moment later.   
“Oh, right! Do you want your jacket back?”  
Keith was freezing. He desperately wanted his jacket back.   
“No, you can keep it,” he replied, concentrating on stopping his body from shivering.   
“I think it might have broken a little in the fall…. I’m sorry.”  
It was Keith’s favorite jacket. He would let Lance burn it if he wanted to.   
“Don’t worry about it.”  
Lance glanced at Keith.   
“Keith, you’re shivering,” he said and started to take the jacket off.   
“Lance, I said I’m fine.”  
But Lance moved closer to Keith and threw the jacket around them like a blanket. Keith relaxed. Lance’s body against his felt like sunshine.   
“Is this okay?” Lance asked quietly.   
“Yeah,” Keith breathed. “We gotta stay warm.”  
He yawned.   
“I’m tired…”  
Lance gave him a worried look.   
“Keith, I don’t think we should fall asleep…”  
But Keith’s eyelids got heavy, and after a moment his head softly slipped down on Lance’s shoulder. He snored quietly and Lance couldn’t help but smile.   
“Good night, mullet,” he whispered and leaned his head on top of Keith’s.


	5. Wake Up

While Keith and Lance slept, they unconsciously moved from sitting position to laying down on the ground. Keith woke up first, and realised that he was facing Lance’s chest, with Lance’s arms around him. He instinctively rolled away, horrified by his actions. Lance was still sleeping, wrapped in Keith’s jacket. Keith could barely keep his eyes off of him.   
He was starting to get really hungry, and his mouth was as dry as the cave. If no one came to save them soon… Keith was about to start looking for a way out on his own, when he suddenly heard something.   
“Lance?”  
But Lance was still snoring. The noise came from outside. It was a muffled voice, and it was coming closer. Keith concentrated on the sound. Was that… his name?  
“Keith? Keith!”  
It was a voice Keith would recognize anywhere.   
“Shiro!” he yelled back. “We’re in here!”  
“Keith, is that you?”   
This time it was Hunk, and they were getting closer.   
“Yes, it’s me! We’re stuck in this cave!”  
“Is Lance with you?” Pidge shouted and Keith yelled the answer back.   
He turned to Lance, who somehow was sleeping through the noise.   
“Lance, wake up. We’re getting rescued.”  
Lance barely moved. Keith walked over to him and gently touched his arm.   
“Come on, Lance. Wake up now.”  
“Keith?” Lance mumbled and started to rub his eyes.   
“We’re getting you out of there!” Shiro shouted from the outside. “Hunk, help me moving these stones.”  
It took a while, but the hole from which sunlight kept leaking into the cave got bigger and bigger, and finally, Keith and Lance could crawl out.   
“Thanks for saving us,” Keith said to his friends. “How did you know where we were?”  
“We didn’t,” Pidge responded. “We’ve been looking all night.”  
Keith immediately felt bad about what his friends had to do for him.   
“Did you find that family?”  
“Yeah, they’re safe,” Hunk said. “Are you guys okay?”  
They were dirty and tired but Keith nodded.   
“We’re fine.”  
“Speak for yourself, Mullet!” Lance interrupted. “I am starving. If I don’t get food soon, I might actually die.”  
“There’s food on the ship,” Shiro said and smiled. “Coran’s waiting for us. Let’s go back.”

Back on the ship, Hunk had prepared a delicious meal for them. After showering and changing into new clothes, Keith and Lance sat down in the kitchen to enjoy the food.   
“Thank you, Hunk,” Lance said with his mouth filled with an unknown fruit. “This is the best thing I’ve ever tasted.”   
“Glad you like it, Lance.” Hunk yawned. “I’m gonna go take a nap. Climbing mountains all night has made me tired.”  
Keith and Lance continued the meal in silence.   
“Hey, uh, thanks by the way,” Lance said after a while. “I was kinda spiraling back there, but you kept me calm.”  
“Don’t worry about it,” Keith responded with a smile. “I was pretty scared as well.”  
“I’m just glad I wasn’t alone in there. And I’m glad I could finally get that thing with Allura off my chest.”  
Lance stood up and put aside his finished plate.   
“I think I’m gonna go take a nap as well,” he said. “See you later.”  
He started walking towards the exit.   
“Wait, Lance.” Keith raised his voice. “I’m… I’m glad I wasn’t alone in there either.”


	6. The Pilot and the Sharpshooter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please ignore that this background storyline is kind of weird. Klance is what matters anyways. Also the part when Hunk and Pidge are talking about science is taken from one of their conversations in the show, so it probably doesn't really make any sense. Oh well. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

While the former Paladins rested, the spaceship kept going on its route back to Earth. It seemed to be a peaceful voyage, but alas, that turned out to not be the case.   
Coran was standing in the control room, thinking about Allura, when a screen suddenly started blinking. A message was incoming. With a confused frown, Coran pushed a few buttons and a video call emerged on the big display. It was Krolia, dressed in her usual Blade of Marmora armor, and she did not look happy.   
“Krolia?” Coran was surprised to see Keith’s mother. “Is something wrong?”  
“Coran, I need to speak with Keith and the others,” Krolia said seriously. “It’s very urgent.”  
Coran immediately got nervous.   
“Yes of course, uh, madam,” he stuttered. “I’ll, uh… give me a tick.”   
He quickly ran over to the speaker.   
“Everyone, you’re needed in the control room immediately! Please, hurry.”  
An awkward moment took place while Coran and Krolia patiently waited for the team, who after a dobosh finally showed up.   
“Coran, is everything alright?” Shiro asked as he entered the room.  
Keith stepped forward.   
“Mom?”  
“Hello, my son. I wish I would be contacting you under better circumstances but…”  
Lance, dressed in his blue pajamas, looked worried.   
“What’s wrong?”  
“Me and Kolivan were out gathering data for the Blades when we picked up chatter on our radio channels,” Krolia explained. “They were coming from a Galra base. We first thought the signals were old, from a base that was abandoned after the war. But when we translated it, we were wrong.”  
“What do you mean?” Keith asked.   
“There is a Galra rebel base. Apparently, some Galra survived the war and are now trying to rebuild the Empire. We don’t know how many there are, and we don’t know if they are posing a threat, but we can’t ignore it. Me and Kolivan would go there ourselves but we’re many galaxies away. You are much closer.”  
“We’ll go check it out,” Shiro answered right away. “Send us the coordinates.”  
“On it,” Krolia responded. “Be careful.”  
“Suit up, guys.”

When the team was close to the secret base, they all went into one of the pods while Coran stayed at the ship, hiding behind a small moon. The base was located within an asteroid belt. It wasn’t big, but the purple lights gave the former Paladins a lot of flashbacks.   
“Flying through that asteroid belt is gonna be tough,” Shiro noted, sitting at the helm of the pod.   
“Yeah, Keith should fly,” Lance said. “He’s the best pilot.”  
“Took you long enough to admit,” Keith replied and gave Lance a smirk.   
Shiro smiled and left the seat so Keith could sit down. He smoothly flew them down and landed the small ship on top of the base.   
“Have we been detected?” Hunk asked as they stepped out of the spacecraft.   
“I don’t think so,” Shiro responded thoughtfully. “Pidge, are you picking up anything?”  
Pidge stared concentrated on her device.   
“Doesn’t look like there are any Galra nearby, unless they’ve found a way to hide from my censors. Probably filled with robots, though.”  
“Can you see where the main computer is?”  
“Actually, it should be right under us,” Pidge said. “Let’s go.” 

They cut a hole in the roof and jumped down into the control room of the base. It was empty, apart from several screens and keyboards. Pidge and Hunk started going through the information on the displays while Keith and Lance guarded the door.   
“What does it say?” Shiro asked Pidge and Hunk.   
“It’s mostly a bunch of nonsense,” Hunk replied as he scanned the screen. “Old registers of prisoners and schedules for cargo ships.”  
“Hold up,” Pidge interrupted. “Maybe there’s a hidden code. Let me try to uncover it.”  
Suddenly, a sound came from the outside.   
“Guys,” Keith said. “There’s someone out there.”  
“I got it!” Pidge started to frantically push different buttons. “It’s a message, written to convince people to join the Empire. It’s been modified so only Galra will pick it up.”  
“That must be why Krolia and Kolivan found it,” Shiro noted.   
The sound seemed to be coming closer.   
“Keith is right,” Lance said. “Something’s on the other side and it does not seem happy to see us.”  
“Pidge and Hunk, stay here and see if you can find any other information,” Shiro decided and starting walking towards the door.   
Keith and Lance followed him into the hallway. It was empty.   
“Where did that thing go?” Lance whispered.   
“Do you guys hear anything?” Keith asked.   
Shiro looked around.   
“Let’s go.”  
They continued down the hallway with their weapons ready. After the lions left, so did their Bayards, but they still had guns and swords from the Garrison. A moment later they entered a bigger room, and suddenly blasters were everywhere. The room was filled with Galra robots, and they were all firing on the intruders.   
“Woah!” Shiro gasped and started firing his gun. “Lance, get up on that balcony and shoot them from above!”  
“I got you covered!” Lance yelled and started running. “These robots ain’t got nothing on Lance the Sharpshooter!”  
Even though it was the middle of a fight, Keith still had time to roll his eyes. He kept slicing the robots with his sword, but for each one he took down, two new seemed to appear.   
“Keith, behind you!” Lance shouted from above.   
Keith turned around and raised his weapon, a second before the robot would have shot his head off.   
“Thank you, Lance!”  
The fight continued. After what seemed like forever, all the robots laid in piles on the floor, weakly shaking with electricity. Lance ran down the others when suddenly the door burst open and Pidge and Hunk ran inside, wide eyed and out of breath.   
“We were gathering intel when...” Hunk yelled.   
“...I untied the quantum-folded encryption…” Pidge continued.   
“...and I scanned the emission spectrum…”  
“...but those emissions were subject to free induction decay…”  
“...and we tried to amplify the sensors, but there was too much interference…”  
“...so we increased the SA magnitude-”  
“English, please!” Lance interrupted.   
“This whole place is gonna blow up!”   
Everyone gasped and stared at Pidge and Hunk, as the floor slowly started to vibrate.   
“We gotta get out of here!” Shiro shouted.   
Suddenly, one last robot rised from the floor, right behind Keith. It was just about to shoot him when Lance gasped and raised his gun.   
“Keith!” Lance yelled and shot the robot, who fell to the ground.   
Keith turned around to look at the robot, and then back to Lance, smiling.   
“Told you. Sharpshooter.” Lance smirked.   
In a moment that was almost unreal, Keith took a step forward, put his hands on the back of Lance’s neck and kissed him. Lance’s lips felt soft against his. He couldn’t believe what was happening, but he knew he was doing something he’d been wanting to do for years.   
Then the magic was gone. Keith took a step back. What was he doing? He had just ruined literally everything.   
“I… I’m so sorry, I-,” he stuttered, hoping the base would blow up faster.   
But Lance’s shocked expression disappeared. With a smile on his face and tears in his eyes, he embraced Keith and kissed him back, more lovingly than anyone in the universe had ever done before. Keith had never been so happy in his life.   
“Finally!” Shiro said, smiling widely.   
“I can’t believe it took them so long.” Hunk wiped a tear.   
“They’re so stupid,” Pidge added with a proud grin.   
Keith and Lance broke up the kiss and smiled at each other. Before they could say anything, the whole base shaked violently and cracks started forming in the walls.   
“I truly hate to do this, but we really gotta go,” Shiro yelled as he started running towards the exit.   
The others followed as they hurried back to the pod and as Keith flew them through the asteroid belt, the Galra base exploded into fire and smoke. Coran picked them up with the ship, and they started to leave. Keith and Lance couldn’t look at each other anymore, and Pidge and Hunk wouldn’t stop giving them teasing looks and imitate kissing sounds.   
“Can you stop it?” Lance asked and glared at them.   
“Yeah guys, leave them alone,” Shiro concurred, but he too couldn’t contain his wide smile.   
Coran looked confused.   
“Did something happen down there? What did I miss?”  
“NOTHING!” Keith and Lance yelled in unison.


	7. The Truth

Keith and Lance avoided each other for the rest of the trip home. Keith still had a hard time believing that Lance had actually wanted to kiss him. He had probably just felt pressured in the moment. Or maybe he got hit in the head during the fight. Or maybe Lance had suddenly gone blind and thought that Keith was some cute girl. The whole thing had probably been a mistake and now Lance would probably never want to speak to Keith again. 

A few hours later the team arrived at the Garrison back on Earth. Pidge started looking for Matt, and Shiro and Hunk went to the control room to contact Krolia for a report on the base.   
“Well, uh, I guess I should go with Shiro,” Keith mumbled to Lance. “Bye.”  
“Wait, Keith!” Lance yelled back angrily.   
Even though Keith had prepared himself for what was coming, it still hurt. Lance could break his heart a million times, and the pain would never cease.   
“You do NOT get to just walk away now!”  
Lance looked enraged and hurt.   
“What?” Keith was confused.   
“After what happened? You can’t just leave me again.”  
“I…” Keith didn’t know what to say. “I thought you’d hate me now.”  
Lance frowned.   
“Why would I hate you?” he said, more quiet than before. “Can you just… can we talk?”

Since the team spent a lot of time at the Garrison in between missions and work, they all had their own dorm where they could rest. Keith and Lance headed to Lance’s room, since it was the closest one.   
“Look,” Keith started. “I’m sorry I kissed y-”  
“No!” Lance was yelling again. “Don’t be sorry! I wanted to kiss you too, okay?”  
Nothing made sense to Keith anymore. The world was spinning.   
“But-”  
“I know it’s weird,” Lance said, looking down. “When we first met I made the whole rival thing up because I was jealous of you, and I didn’t know how to act around you. But then we actually became friends and I trusted you and I really liked you and I felt like maybe… maybe there was something more but I was so scared. I wasn’t supposed to feel that way but I couldn’t stop thinking about you. And then you left for the Blades. You left me, Keith. I really missed you. Nothing was the same without you. And I thought… I hoped everything would get back to normal when you came back but it didn’t. It was like you didn’t even care about me anymore.”  
“Lance… I…”   
Keith felt so many emotions at once that he could barely think. Had Lance felt like this the entire time? If that was the case, Keith owed him an explanation.   
“Remember that time you came into my room when you were worried about having to leave the team? You weren’t the weak link, Lance, I was. I left Voltron because I wanted you to be happy. And I was scared too, because we were starting to get closer and… I was afraid you’d find out how I really felt about you.”  
“You left so I wouldn’t have to,” Lance said, meeting Keith’s eyes.   
“I’m so sorry.” Keith’s voice was pained. “When I came back, I did care about you. But just being in the same room as you was painful. You broke my heart, Lance.”  
“And you broke mine.”  
They looked at each other. Years of pushed down secrets were finally being revealed. They both had many regrets, but none of that mattered now. Lance took a step forward and embraced Keith in a hug. He pulled his finger through the mullet that he had secretly loved for so long, and Keith tried to stop himself from crying as he pushed his face against Lance’s chest.   
“I love you, Keith.”  
“I love you too, Lance.”  
Lance kissed the top of Keith’s head and took his hand.   
“Let’s go help the others.” 

When Keith and Lance entered the control room, holding hands, Hunk and Shiro had ended their call with Krolia and was having a discussion with Pidge.   
“Hey,” Keith said. “What did my mom say?”  
No one answered. Everyone grinned at them, and Keith felt his cheeks starting to heat.   
“So,” Pidge said with a smirk, “took you long enough to finally figure it out.”  
“Wait a minute.” Lance frowned. “How did you even know about this?”  
“Oh, it took so long to find out,” Hunk answered sarcastically. “Right, Pidge?”  
“Oh, yeah! It definitely didn’t give us a hint that time on the gameshow when you literally said that out of all the Paladins, you’d save each other. I mean, friends refer to each other as their future all the time! Suuuure.”   
Lance blushed. Keith, who had always considered himself to be at least somewhat intelligent, was starting to realise how dumb he actually was.   
“I’m proud of you both,” Shiro announced. “It takes a lot of courage to admit who you really are, and to admit your love for someone.”  
Pidge sneered at Shiro.   
“We’re still gonna make fun of them though, right?”  
“Absolutely.” Shiro laughed.   
“Let’s get out of here,” Keith whispered to Lance.   
Lance smirked at him.   
“I’d like more of that kiss.”  
And hand in hand they walked away, towards the bright future, both happier than ever before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah, I can't believe people are actually reading this. As I mentioned before, this is my first fic every so I was very nervous about posting it. Thank you all so so much for reading! <3


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